Build thread : Cedar Blanket Chest for a Client an its got a couple Nice twists to it

thankyou roy, this is a great thread to follow. thanx for sharing this process.

I guess the whole day wasn't wasted I got the lid panel glued up.



So hoping to be back at it Monday or Tuesday if it isn't raining

Important Note : Do not set your Inlay like I did an get rain that drops the temperature more than 10 degrees
Well I removed all the tape an had seen that my inlay went off some due to the temperature change before it was dry





An now I need to repair these areas



Its not hard to do Just V it open some an remove the glue an make up some Putty with the dust from the wood with thick CA an mix it quick an fill in the areas then sand it down some



If it looks off some don't worry it will be alright once the finish is on, some areas will be darker than others, next clean out the stars an make a wedge shape for the liquid inlays, the wedge shape will help hold the inlay without it coming out



Here is a close up of the wedge inward of each star I'm talking about



Once you are for sure everything is good make up your liquid Inlay, I'm using Blue Pearl an Stone flakes that the client likes an then I pored each area



Now let it cure so back to the Lid for now sanding again

Well got it sanded to 100 Grit an put some mineral spirits on it to see the colors



Next will be making a simple jig for the Dovetail splines

Well after I got the Inlay sanded I started to make a Poor Mans Dovetail Spline Jig. But first, I set the blade



I took the extra pieces I milled with the sides an need to cuts some 45 degrees on them I have enough for 2 joints, I used my Sled to do this



Next glue them up an I used corner clamps to hold them



In the next part I will make the Poor Mans Dovetail Spline jig

Poor Mans Dovetail Spline Jig

I'm going to show how I make a Dovetail Spline jig, but I'm making 2 of them. First one is for the main dovetail an the second one is for a Inlay Dovetail

First I pulled out a scrap piece of Baltic Burch Plywood 3/4 inch

I'm going to making (2) X 7 Inch rips on the scrap



Next on each piece I'm going to make (2) 7 inch cuts an (1) 11 inch piece



Next on the 7" x 7" pieces I cut a 45 degree angle on one side,



As you can see in the picture there is a recess cut across the grain on the 11" piece. Here is why all corners on the project theses jigs are made for are sharp corners so I cut a recess in the center across the board I only went in about 1/8"



Next on the C/L I marked out for (2) 1" holes these hole are 3 1/2" from the recess on each side



Next thing I did I found some scrap Oak an cut some 45s for support latter in the thread



Now for the best alignment for this jig is to take it to your project an clamp the 7" X 7" pieces to the corner top an bottom with the long end of the 45s touching the wood , bring it close to the corner



While it is clamped check an see if the top plat sits nicely on the 45s, if not adjust until it does. On mine it looks great so I took the pieces off an put some wax paper on the corner an reattached the pieces



Double check fit-up an adjust as needed, If you are ready put glue on the 45s an set your top plate on an brad nail it in place




Continued in the next part

Now next thing to do is get your 45 degree pieces of scrap an glue then in place an brad nail them in place this is the added support





Now that I am making 2 of these I will make the other one on the other corner same way as this one





Now I leave them in place until dry
So be back tomorrow

Well it time to finish the jig, the next step is to find what size of my guide bushing since my router bits are Half inch shank so I am using 5/8 bushing , so I got out my 3/8 inch strait bit and set it up in my router table





As you can see I cut in a small run from one end to the first hole it helps me for setup an clean out when I cut the Dovetail Spline areas



Next thing I did is set the bit height to the highest it needs to be. I set my digital gauge to 0 an lowered the bit to 1/4" above the table then set my center point with the fence. Next I ran 1 grove through the holes an turned it around an did the same I was off by 1/32 from center so not to bad, I raised it an did another passes until I reached my max height

Now I'm at the max height I need to make it wider so I marked where my fence is an moved the fence in small increment's until I needed to where I need to be for the bushing size




Now here is what the jig looks like after cutting the grove for the bushing



Next I got out one of the test pieces an I set up the height of the bit an clamped my jig to the test piece, time to find out if its going to work for my project



Next I do my cut , this is the first time the jig is used so I'm also cutting the jig to for the router bit an it looks good



I removed the jig an checked my test piece



No blow outs an nice clean cuts so this jig is ready for the project, but before I do anything I mark the top an size of the dovetail bit used for this jig. I plan on keeping this jig for future projects



Now you can make this jig for strait bits also for splines for your bigger projects or an size of dovetail bit. Since I made 2 of these I will be making a inlay dovetail with the other one for future projects

I was going to cut in the Dovetail Splines for the chest but rain is moving in on me, so I will wait until I have a full day to cut the Dovetails an Splines an get the Splines glued in the same day

Here is what the Spline looks like in the test piece







So I will continue this thread when the weather gets better for 8 hours

Well its time to cut the Dovetails for the splines

First I clamped down the carcass so it don't slide round on you when you start the cutting



Next I did some math so where the Splines are going to be places from the top to bottom
2" then 4 3/8 then 4 3/8 then 4 3/8 then 2 inches to the bottom nice an even
Important Note Write it down



Now mark out the carcass an make strait lines , on my jig I marked out center for the cut, so it makes it easier to line up with the lines on the carcass






Now make all your cuts

Important Note Do not do the cuts unless you have 8 hours with very little change in weather
See in next thread

Well I got all my cuts done an looking good





Now to make the Splines, Here I'm using Walnut. The dovetail bit I used was a 7 degree bit so I set my table saw blade to 83 Degrees an did a test cut



I checked the Spline on my test piece an it looked sweet so I checked the Carcass an so its all good



Time to get them glued in an I'm using Titebond 2





Once there all glued I time to let tem dry an with no pressure on an of the splines so I set the carcass up on 2 boards



So hopefully back tomorrow but got an appointment an it might rain tomorrow

It sure is looking good Roy

Well I started cutting the Dovetail Splines with a flush cut saw an chisels, then started to sand them down by hand with a block an 320 grit sandpaper





An here is a picture with some mineral sprits on the dovetail splines



Been talking with the client for the past 2 days an found out this one is going overseas to Italy an it needs to be ready by the end of the month, also waiting on Sentry Safes to come over today to take measurements of the inside an do a templates for a shallow safe. So I'm on hold until they get here an I hate waiting on some one that can't answer there phone

First Coat of Tung Oil

Still following along

Roy Millsaps said:

First Coat of Tung Oil

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So when you say "Tung Oil" which incarnation of it do you refer to?

Ryan Mooney said:

Still following along



So when you say "Tung Oil" which incarnation of it do you refer to?

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I make up my own with true Tung Oil an Mineral sprits an some varnish, mostly wipe on poly its cheaper an make it as I go

Roy Millsaps said:

I make up my own with true Tung Oil an Mineral sprits an some varnish, mostly wipe on poly its cheaper an make it as I go

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Thanks Roy,

Hope you don't mind the Qs

Do you add any driers to the mix?

Looks nice Roy- should I recognize the maple?

Ryan Mooney said:

Thanks Roy,

Hope you don't mind the Qs

Do you add any driers to the mix?

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Yap LOL no problem but I don't give up my recipe

michael stafford said:

Looks nice Roy- should I recognize the maple?

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Not on this one Mike but on the next one you will an some of the Walnut to